Regulation of actin in rat adrenocortical cells by corticotropin.

Corticotropin (ACTH) induces a characteristic retraction of rat adrenocortical cells in culture. Densitometric analysis of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis gels of cell lysates showed that ACTH induced a 20% decrease in actin content. These results were fully confirmed by quantitation of actin by the DNase 1 inhibition assay. The decrease in actin is hormone-specific, concentration-dependent, and correlates temporally with the morphological change induced by ACTH. The change in actin content and the reorganization of microfilament ultrastructure may together mediate hormone regulation of cell shape at the cytoskeletal level.